Less than a week before the San Diego City Council is to consider new short-term rental regulations, the City Attorney’s office Wednesday released a memo that raises numerous legal questions about a proposal that appeared to have the best chance of gaining consensus.

Many of those provisions, though, raise questions of "equal protection” by imposing different regulations for different types of short-term rental hosts, says City Attorney Mara Elliott. She also points out that some of the fees recommended for generating revenues to help enforce new rental regulations could be interpreted as taxes and would require voter approval.

“Without any guidance on how to make these proposals work from the legal perspective, I don’t see how we could move forward on Monday with any pieces of this,” said Councilman David Alvarez, one of the four council members who released the compromise proposal. “There are some very specific legal objections being raised over multiple pieces of our proposal.

“We were trying to reach a point of consensus on how to legally allow these rentals while also protecting neighborhoods by avoiding excessive partying, building in an affordable housing fee, capping rentals so that it’s not an investor-driven activity but now we have no guidance on whether we can do any of that.”

San Diego’s elected leaders have been wrestling with how to regulate the explosion of Airbnb-type rentals for the last 2-½ years, but multiple public hearings so far have not yielded any consensus on a set of acceptable rules. Hosts have argued that the city should not be taking away their property rights by over-regulating vacation rentals, while residents in single-family neighborhoods have complained that their quiet communities have been overrun by mini hotels.

Elliott earlier this year issued an opinion concluding that such rentals are unlawful because they are not identified anywhere in the city's municipal code, but the city has not been enforcing that ruling.

On Monday, the city’s planning department will present council members with a range of three proposed ordinances, ranging from the most permissive to the most restrictive, which would limit the rental of entire homes to no more than 90 days a year.

Also up for discussion will be proposals drafted by individual council members. Councilwoman Barbara Bry, whose district includes the La Jolla area, has proposed that homeowners be allowed to rent out only their primary residences on a short-term basis for no more than 90 days a year.

In contrast, the proposal from Council Members Alvarez, Chris Ward, Scott Sherman and Mark Kersey would allow owners to rent out up to three properties on a short-term basis, and a three-night minimum stay would be required in San Diego's coastal areas.

Elliott’s legal concerns about singling out primary residents from other types of rental hosts seems to apply to Bry’s proposal as well.

“Treating primary residents who wish to allow for the short-term use of their dwelling unit differently from those who are not ‘primary residents’ requires a rational relationship between the requirement that the property be an applicant's primary residence and a permissible state objective. It is unclear what permissible state objective would be met by this requirement.”

Both Bry and Ward said Wednesday they could not comment on the memo because they had not yet read it.

Elliott also has equal protection concerns with the limitations on how many properties a homeowner can rent out, as well as the three-night minimum stay on the coast because of possible conflicts with the state Coastal Act.

Said Alvarez, “The breaking news is there won’t be anything done on Monday.”

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Hundreds of San Diego hotel workers marched in downtown San Diego to pressure Marriott hotels to improve pay and working conditions for low wage workers.

Hundreds of San Diego hotel workers marched in downtown San Diego to pressure Marriott hotels to improve pay and working conditions for low wage workers.

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Hundreds of San Diego hotel workers marched in downtown San Diego to pressure Marriott hotels to improve pay and working conditions for low wage workers.

Hundreds of San Diego hotel workers marched in downtown San Diego to pressure Marriott hotels to improve pay and working conditions for low wage workers.

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The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a federal law that bars gambling on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states, giving states the go-ahead to legalize betting on sports.

The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a federal law that bars gambling on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states, giving states the go-ahead to legalize betting on sports.

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Viasat is a global communications company working to connect the unconnected throughout the world. As part of our mission, we're bringing low-cost, high-speed satellite internet to rural towns throughout Mexico. We believe that everyone, everywhere deserves the opportunity to add their voice to the global conversation. (Courtesy of Viasat)

Viasat is a global communications company working to connect the unconnected throughout the world. As part of our mission, we're bringing low-cost, high-speed satellite internet to rural towns throughout Mexico. We believe that everyone, everywhere deserves the opportunity to add their voice to the global conversation. (Courtesy of Viasat)

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San Diego has agreed to sell 16 lots in Nestor for $1 each, in the pursuit of affordable housing. The nonprofit San Diego Community Land Trust plans to build three and four-bedroom homes there for people with moderate incomes. That means a family of five with an income of up to $102,750.

San Diego has agreed to sell 16 lots in Nestor for $1 each, in the pursuit of affordable housing. The nonprofit San Diego Community Land Trust plans to build three and four-bedroom homes there for people with moderate incomes. That means a family of five with an income of up to $102,750.

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Toys R Us still sells about 20% of the toys bought in the U.S., according to an analyst at Jefferies LLC.

Toys R Us still sells about 20% of the toys bought in the U.S., according to an analyst at Jefferies LLC.